Chad Witko

Six years at Audubon, its National Science team, and the Migratory Bird Initiative. Woot woot.

TGIF

Back in my CA pelagic days I scanned through every shearwater until my eyes teared up looking for a Streaked. What an incredible find for the Atlantic basin! Yowzas.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Bird Migration Explorer The Bird Migration Explorer is your guide to the heroic annual journeys made by over 450 bird species, and the challenges they face along the way.

This #WorldMigratoryBirdDay, find out where your local migratory birds may be coming from on their journeys based on band encounter data from the USGS Bird Banding Lab and hundreds of scientists and institutions on the Bird Migration Explorer! explorer.audubon.org

Ooh so many good guesses. I’ll reveal the answer soon!

Ooh, that's a good guess! Kingfishers are a bit cartoonish! But, no that wasn't the one.

Quiz: What eBird species account starts with "Wonderful, cartoonish bird?" Fun guesses welcome.

Came out of our annual retreat with three lifers: Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, and Kentucky Warbler!

Indeed!

I’ll be in St. Louis next week for work and I have two primary bird targets. Any guesses?!!

Last night, Sibley spoke at a local library. He graciously signed a few books, including this bird-finding guide to NJ. This was my first exposure to his art, long before his field guides. He stared at it as if seeing a long-lost relative. "Wow! I don't think I've ever signed one of these!"

Looking at people's yard lists, what impresses me isn't always the total (but, seriously, look at these!) but also what was last observed. Are there any surprises here? PS: Does anyone know what Keith Hansen's Wildlife Gallery bird list is up to in Bolinas, CA? His website shows it was 230 in '20.

Consider supporting our raptorthon team: www.hawkmigration.org/product/gree...

Proud to receive the GEM Award at the National Audubon Society—a great way to start the week here in rainy Vermont!

Well, it looks like I’ll be heading up to Quebec this weekend for some birding—arriving around midnight tomorrow (Friday) night after a five-hour drive and ready for a full day Saturday and some of Sunday. The plan? Try to find some Gray Partridge, Willow Ptarmigan, and irruptive owls. 🤞

Anyone have experience birding in Quebec this winter? I might be going with a friend in a few weeks (TBD) to look for owls and Willow Ptarmigan. I welcome any tips!

This was one of my first thoughts, sadly.

eBird Checklist - 15 Feb 2025 - Old North End - 5 species Submitted by Lee Toomey.

A Boreal Owl was just found in VT: ebird.org/checklist/S2.... Opposite end of the state from me, but man oh man.

An Unforgettable Experience off the Coast of Newfoundland A group of researchers, educators, photographers, and Indigenous youth climb aboard the Polar Prince.

Literally still dreaming about this experience: www.audubon.org/news/unforge...

I might be traveling to Rochester, NY, in a few weeks. I figured I'd see what birds were even considered possible ABA lifers during that time frame (living in NY for 30 years or so, I had a good sense). Here's the top baker's dozen (per eBird). Woof! Maybe a vagrant bird will show up before then.

Love this Galbatross crew! Amazing stuff that will hopefully open people's eyes to female birds a bit more. Congrats friends!

Some recent lifers, all coming from NY and New England: Taiga Bean-Goose, Tundra Bean-Goose, and Northern Lapwing.

Is anyone else having dreams of finding ptarmigan lately? Or is it just me?

Love a good success story!

A vagrant Northern Lapwing roams the lawn at a sewage-treatment plant in south-eastern Massachusetts. It is a large, pigeon-like shorebird with a white belly, a broad black collar, and a unique black plume projecting upwards from its crown.

13/ It was, in truth, a short drive, and @chadwitko.bsky.social had helpfully posted a map of exactly where the bird was, so within forty minutes we were at Fort Rodman and scrambling up a grassy hill to peer into the facility. Enrico got there first and immediately gave me the thumbs up! 👉

Stoked.

Haven’t posted in a while, so here’s a Barred Owl just outside my office window yesterday.

On the bird front, other than some crazy vagrant, Willow Ptarmigan is my most likely lifer. Also interested in any cool mammals (caribou) and otherwise just cool stuff. Hit me up if you have intel or r/t if you think someone in your circle might. Thanks!